Conditions Report
Report from May 14, 2026
Setting my alarm last night at 11:30 p.m. for a 4:20 a.m. wake-up felt a little insane, and, dare I say, slightly dreadful.
Especially after hiking over 10 miles around Emerald Bay in Lake Tahoe in the afternoon.
But the extreme lengths that we’ll go for the things we love doing as skiers and snowboarders could most definitely be described as somewhat crazy.
Hey, what can I say?
That’s the allure of Mammoth Mountain in May.
The two and a half hour drive south on Highway 395 is always so surreal, but it also flies by in the best way possible.
First, we were treated to a picture-perfect alpenglow sunrise looking up at Job’s Peak from the valley.
Along the way: big mountains, a raging river, snowy peaks, thermal creeks — the views, although dangerously distracting, are quite literally endless.
Every time I come down this way, I’m constantly in awe of everything about this absolutely mesmerizing region that is the Eastern Sierra Nevada.
As we arrived at Main Lodge just after opening at 7:30 a.m., the crisp morning air was already giving way to the warm spring sun.
We started the day with a couple of quite firm and freaky-fast laps on the lower-mountain groomers off of Broadway Express (Chair 1).
I had a strong feeling that the snow would begin softening very quickly, not long after the intense May sun hits it.
With spring operating hours in effect, we wanted to make the most of our day-trip by getting out early and getting after it all day.
And that’s exactly what we would end up doing.
I recalled skiing smooth, edgeable corn in the morning on Center Bowl off of Face Lift (Chair 3) the last time we were here a couple of weeks ago.
So we made our way over and ripped a few fast laps in some perfectly soft conditions.
The sun was starting to get hot, the snow was softening up, and therefore, the skiing was just starting to get really good.
Right now, there is one of the longest and most fun wiggles I’ve skied this season, right under Chair 3.
Without hesitation, people were cheering and hollering as we were slashing down the slushy banked walls.
It was time to make our way over to Chair 23 and scope out the pond skim.
Last spring, I tried a couple times, but I couldn’t get enough speed through the flat section at the bottom before the water, and never even attempted it.
Today, with a fresh coat of wax and a good feeling about it, I was determined to make it happen and successfully get across.
Unfortunately, the ski racers were still flying down the race course, so we’d have to come back later on once it opened to the public.
From the top of Chair 23, we took a ripping fast run on Cornice Bowl, then continued all the way down—nearly 2,000 feet of vertical drop—back to our car at Main Lodge for a quick lunch break.
After a short 30-minute refresh and refuel, we wandered back over to the Panorama Gondola for a ride up to the summit.
There’s still a ton of snow up high, so much so that Mammoth just announced an extension to the season.
Somehow, I convinced my snowboarding girlfriend to drop into the Volkswagen-sized moguls on Climax, and she was getting after it
The big, slushy bumps were forgiving and super fun once I caught a rhythm as we made our way down.
I stopped momentarily to catch my breath and looked down the mountain to see the glacial blue water of the pond skim and a skier gliding across it.
Positive that I could get enough speed from where I stood, I pointed my skis straight and went for a long ride with little to no turning at all.
As I approached the water, I noticed a large crowd of spectators surrounding the skim.
“Don’t fall, hold it together, you got this,” I said to myself.
Before I knew it, I was gracefully flying across the water and safely made it to the other side, stoked and ready to do it again.
We lapped Chair 23, hitting either Drop Out Chutes to the wiggle right underneath the chair, or Cornice Bowl to the pond skim, over and over and over.
The spring vibes were off the charts; we saw Miles and his bachelor party crew of rippers all tearing it up.
And I met and got to ski some laps with a new buddy, Ben, from Mammoth, as well as the new homie, Dom, from Minnesota.
Popping off all of the moguls, dropping over the little tree gap, pond skimming, and wiggling with good company under the blue skies and California sunshine.
It was an absolute blast and a blessing.
As the clock approached 1:55 p.m., after 20 laps on the day, we went for a final skim and party lap back down to the base.
Mammoth Mountain in May is truly unique and one of a kind.
The community here is clearly special; from the terrain parks to the racing to the big mountain freeride, this place really has it all.
I’m hoping we’ll make it back maybe once more before closing day, but if not, this was one hell of a way to send off the season at one of my favorite places.
And as always: thanks for the memories, Mammoth!
Snow Report
Forecast
